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Japanese Maple Leaves Turn Black, Not Red: Environmental Mystery

Q: Japanese maple leaves black instead of red this fall.

A: Joins 'ginkgo didn't turn yellow' phenomenon. Some maples/oaks colored brilliantly, but environment disrupted this maple's transition. Excess rain theorized, but why only some trees? Nature isn't telling.

black maple leaves

black sweetgum leaves

About Gardening: Japanese Red Maple Post-Transplant Leaf Spots: Need Photo; Japanese Maple Spring Leaf Damage: Herbicide Injury vs. Winter Kill; Lightning Strike on Japanese Maple: Wound Care and Shade Color; Japanese Red Maple Aphids: Atomic Grow for Cleanup and Vigor; Japanese Red Maple Brown Tips: Miracle-Gro Salt/Chlorine Toxicity; Japanese Maple Leaf Wither: Overwatering in Clay Soil Corrected by Deep Weekly Watering; Japanese Maple Leaf Scorch: Heat, Wind, and Root Moisture; Japanese Maple Leaf Scorch: Recovery and Prevention; Japanese Maple Leaf Color: Sun and Genetics Drive Red Pigment; Why 'Bloodgood' Japanese Maple Leaves Turn Green in Summer

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